Lake Bunyonyi safari holidays; Bird watching and vacation tours

Lake Bunyonyi is a crater lake located at -1.29750° S, 29.91726° E in the south west part of Uganda in the Muhavura dormant volcano mountain ranges and is one of the water features that are as a result of geo volcanic actions that happened millions of years ago. After numerous eruptions and overriding of land blocks and masses there was a deep hollow basin that was filled with water over time forming a lake. Furthermore, lake Bunyonyi is not just the most beautiful and also the deepest crater lake in Africa at maximum point of 900m. Lake Bunyonyi has its name derived from the numerous bird species that harbor or its shores with 29 islands each having a name that is derived from certain historical events and occurrences that transpired among the local people.

Safari holiday packages at lake Bunyonyi

4 days lake Bunyonyi holiday & birding safari

Looking for where to go for a short holiday? A 4 days short holiday trip to lake Bunyonyi during a honey moon celebration, birthday party, Easter holiday, Christmas holidays, summer vacation or work-off get away and relaxation moments.

While at lake Bunyonyi, you will engage in numerous entertaining experiences such as;

Birding & bird watching
Boat cruises
29 islands tour
Zip lining
Swimming
Batwa culture tour

4 days holiday safari summary

#Day 1; Transfer to lake Bunyonyi
#Day 2-3; Chosen entertaining activities at lake Bunyonyi
#Day 4; Transfer back to Kampala, Uganda/ Kigali, Rwanda for next activity or departure.

15 days lake Bunyonyi & Uganda birding safari

2 weeks/ 15 days Bird watching, gorilla trekking & Africa's big 5 Uganda safari offers a full day and night at the resorts of lake Bunyonyi. While at lake Bunyonyi, you have a range of choice of activities to take on for example zip lining, lake tubing, boat cruises, islands tour, swimming, birding, hiking and much more. Elsewhere, the 15 days Uganda safari offers the best of Africa's big 5 (lions, rhinos, elephants, buffaloes, leopards) with an amazing walking safari to encounter rhinos. Other great outstanding activities on this trip are; gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking, game drives, Nile river boat cruises, golden monkey tracking, hiking and nature walks, shoebill tracking, Kazinga channel boat cruises, photography etc.

A pair of young mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) playing around while hanging from a tree in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

3 days Lake Bunyonyi Uganda safari

3 days Lake Bunyonyi focused vacations are a trip to remember. Day 1 sees you transfer from either Kampala or Kigali to lake Bunyonyi resorts to prepare for the next day's full day blast with lake activities. The 3 days lake Bunyonyi safari can be spiced up with an early morning session of gorilla trekking or golden monkey tracking experience in Rushaga sector of Bwindi or Mgahinga national parks. Day 3 gets you to transfer back to the city for departure. While at lake Bunyonyi, you'll enjoy relaxation experiences and balcony views as you watch the lake Bunyonyi biodiversity. Common birds to see while at the lake resorts include the red-chested sunbird, woodpeckers, kingfishers, great cormorant, raptors etc.

Leopard in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda

20 days Uganda birding safari

Slow travelers on this 3 weeks/ 20 days Uganda birding safari enjoy a day at lake Bunyonyi. Uganda' savanna plains, acacia woodland, tropical forests, swamps, lakes and rivers have some of the best and unique bird species out of the 25%+ share of the total Africa bird population. While on this birding Uganda experience, you'll have great bird sightings for example shoebills, flamingos, pelicans, sunbirds, raptors, kingfishers, papyrus gonolek, secretary birds, ostriches, kori bustards, papyrus canary, turacos, Albertine rift endemics, Guinea- Congo biome species, Hadada ibis, grey crowned cranes, Africa fish eagles, Africa grey parrots etc. Also during game drives, treks & boat cruises, mammals, primates & reptiles in the biodiversity keep spicing up the safari with amazing sighting of for example Africa's big 5, giraffes, zebras, hippos, crocodiles, antelopes, warthogs, cheetahs etc.

24 day Uganda birding safari

This 24 days wildlife & birding Uganda safari offers a 2 days Lake Bunyonyi tour as a great bird destination on the itinerary. On this slow long travel 3 weeks excursions take you through all the popular game parks of the Pearl of Africa. You enjoy gorilla trekking in Bwindi, golden monkey tracking in Mgahinga, chimpanzee tracking in Kibale for top primate trekking highlights along birdwatching. Along lake Bunyonyi, you also visit Queen Elizabeth N.P which is the continent's most bird concentrated park. Africa's big 5 (lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants, buffaloes) on this safari come with other great sightings for giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, ostriches, secretary birds, shoebills, antelopes, olive baboons, warthogs, water bucks etc.

20 days lake Bunyonyi & gorilla trekking safari

An amazing 3 weeks/ 20 days wildlife & primate trekking Uganda safari offers great adventure found in both the Eastern & Western tourism safari circuits. This long slow travel experience has a full day experience aet lake Bunyonyi. Primate trekking excursions get you to encounter mountain gorillas, chimpanzee, golden monkeys, black & white colobus monkeys, olive baboons, red colobus monkeys etc. Wildlife game drives, hiking and boat cruises offer sightings of Africa's big 5 (lions, leopards, buffaloes, elephants, rhinos), bird watching, Murchison water falls, source of the Nile river tours, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, warthogs, water bucks, hippos, crocodiles, flamingos, shoebills etc. Other activities on this safari include bungee jumping, kayaking, water rafting, bird watching etc.

30 days birding and wildlife safari

A full getaway month/ 30 days birding and wildlife Uganda safari offers 2 days at Lake Bunyonyi exploration activities for example lake tubing, boat cruises, kayaking, canoeing, birding, swimming, zip lining & hiking. Primate trekking is a must do on this safari with gorilla trekking, chimpanzees tracking & golden monkey tracking in Kibale forest, Bwindi impenetrable and Mgahinga national parks. Wildlife game drives in Murchison falls, Kidepo, Queen Elizabeth national parks along with walking safaris in lake Mburo and Ziwa rhino sanctuary park offer rich wild animal sightings for example Africa's big 5 (lions, leopards, buffaloes, elephants, rhinos), cheetahs, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, warthogs etc.

Birding Lake Bunyonyi

The name “Bunyonyi” itself means many small birds and it was because of the presence of these many birds that got the crater lake its name. There are over 200 recorded bird species with papyrus endemics, woodland species, highland endemics, water birds and raptors. Birds found around lake Bunyonyi include; great cormorant, pied kingfisher, papyrus canary, slender-billed Baglafetch, black heron, Levillant cuckoo, papyrus yellow warbler, white-tailed blue Monard, white-winged swamp warbler, malachite kingfisher, cardinal woodpecker, papyrus gonolek, bronzy sunbird, grey crowned crane, white-tailed blue flycatcher, African fish eagle, weavers, African harrier hawk (Gymnogene), red-chested sunbird, cinnamon-chested bee-eater, Cisticolas, raptors etc.

Mammals at lake Bunyonyi

The most notable mammals to in lake Mburo are the African clawless and spot-necked otters. Shy bushbucks live in surrounding highland forests with other ungulates like zebras, impalas and waterbucks that were introduced on Kyahungye island. Primates you observe are the vervet monkeys and De Brazza’s monkeys.

Activities done at lake Bunyonyi

Bird watching and birding; This is the most popular activity around the lake with numerous bird species recorded at more than 200 and commonly seen in trees around the lodges. Some of the common birds to watch include cinnamon-chested bee-eater, bronze and red-chested sunbirds, great cormorant, weaver birds, woodpeckers, malachite and pied kingfishers.
Boat cruises; You enjoy boat cruises by canoes or motor boats and have a tour around the 29 islands on the lake for example the popular Akampene (punishment island), Bwama & Njuyeera (Sharp’s island), Bushara island, Bucuranuka (upside down island) etc.
Zip lining; An adrenalin activity that takes you over the waters of the lake from one lake shore to the other is indeed a great and exciting activity when you visit the lake.
Lake tubing; Floating on the lake by tire tubes with nets on one hollow side to hold you while seated in it are tied together and hooked unto a boat that pulls you over the lake with tire tubes acting as floaters.
Wildlife viewing; While on nature walks and hiking in the surrounding forests you will see some primates, ungulates at the Kyahungye island and otters at the swampy shores.

Also consider other activities like;

29 Island tour; You’ll also enjoy a tour around the 29 islands that are found in the lake, get to know more knowledge about them and know as to why they got their names.
Swimming; Lake Bunyonyi is predator free (without hippos, crocodiles or reptiles) and also bilharzia free making it a great swimming waters for visitors/ tourists to the lake.
Holiday vacation/ relations; For special holidays like easter, Christmas, honeymoon, birthday parties, retreats, team building etc., Lake Bunyonyi is a quite and fantastic destination with great lodges to accommodate and help you relax during your getaway.
Canoeing/ Kayaking; Professional kayakers and confident sailors can also enjoy canoeing/ kayaking at the lake while amateurs/ learners kayak along guides.
Culture tours and nature walks; Along the guides, you get to nature walks and culture tours to the Batwa (pygmy) and Bakiga communities and know more about their relation and livelihoods around the lake.

Birding and bird watching at lake Bunyonyi

Best time to visit lake Bunyonyi

Lake Bunyonyi can be visited at any time throughout the year regardless of the weather. During dry seasons of June to August and December to February a cool breeze at the welcomes you and calms down your body while from partaking different wildlife excursions and trekking. During the rainy seasons of March to May and September to November the lodges around the lake have heating facilities that keep you warm while at enjoying your get away staycation holidays.

Grand feast holidays like Easter, Christmas, Idi, birthdays, honeymoons, family vacations and much more are a smooth blast of enjoyment while at lake Bunyonyi along with other activities on and around the lake.

How to get to lake Bunyonyi and location

Lake Bunyonyi is located in Kabale in the south western Uganda a 9 hours drive from Kampala city. The lake is near Rwanda’s border to Uganda on a 1 hour drive and 4 hours drive from Kigali city. Bunyonyi crater lake was formed as a result of water from the crater being trapped in the middle of steep slopes of the highlands making it a quite a deep lake.

Where to stay when at lake Bunyonyi holiday

Lake Bunyonyi rock resort

Rock resort is located on the shores of lake Bunyonyi at -1.29492° S, 29.94637° E in south western Uganda offering numerous staycation options such as;

Room cottages starting at $160
Triple/ family bungalow starting at $305
Big family bungalow starting at $535

While at Rock resort you will easily engage in gorilla trekking, golden monkey tracking, zip lining, lake tubing, swimming, boat cruises, pygmy culture tour, 29 islands tour etc.

Birdnest resort @ Bunyonyi

Birdnest is a top rated staycation hotel on the banks of lake Bunyonyi at -1.26569° S, 29.93744° E in Western Uganda. From Birdnest resort you can go for gorilla trekking, golden monkey tracking, boat cruise, island tour, bird watching among others.

Birdnest resort @ Bunyonyi offers standard accommodation options like;

Single rooms starting at $105
Double rooms starting at $120 and more.

Arcadia lodge

Situated on top of the hills around lake Bunyonyi at -1.27531° S 29.94532° E, Arcadia lodge has the best views from above of most of the 29 islands anchoring in the lake.

Arcadia lodge offers standard rooms for chilly staycation options like;

Single occupancy starting at $160
Double occupancy starting at $220

Lake Bunyonyi eco resort

Lake Bunyonyi eco resort is located at -1.28566° S, 29.93250° E on Kyahugye island anchored in the lake & the only island with some wildlife.

For lodging services, Lake Bunyonyi eco resort offers top rated accommodation staycation while on trip at lake Bunyonyi. These offer include;

Single occupancy starting at $105
Double occupancy starting at $115
Twin/ couple occupancy starting at $175
Family occupancy starting at $345
Child at $70